Stack mold linkage with unequal strokes

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to stack mold linkages for creating unequal strokes for use in an injection molding machine for making different sized molded parts. The stack mold linkages comprise linkages for moving each of at least two mold assemblies between a mold closed position and a mold open position and for separating the mold halves forming the mold assemblies by unequal stroke lengths.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/054,692,entitled STACK MOLD LINKAGE, filed Apr. 3, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No.6,027,681.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an injection molding machine forproducing different parts that has a linkage for producing unequalstrokes during the opening and closing of the mold sections. The presentinvention also relates to a method for fabricating molded articles ofdifferent sizes using a single molding machine.

A multi-level stack mold typically uses a linkage system to open andclose the mold sections while maintaining equal spacing between allsections.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,601 to Lainesse shows an early two level stack moldwhich is opened by the motion of a platen. As the platen moves, a firstmold station nearest the platen opens, while a second mold stationremains closed. Pins, fastened to a center section, slide through a pairof plates until their heads contact the underside of one of the plates,thus limiting the opening stroke of the first mold station. As theplaten continues to move, the center section is now caused to move viathe pins. Other pins, fastened to the center section, slide through asecond pair of plates until their heads contact the underside of anejector plate causing it to move and compress springs which cause thesecond mold station to open. Motion of the platen continues until theheads, already bottomed out on the ejector plate, fully compress thesprings thereby ejecting the parts from the second mold station. Thismechanical system thereby causes a two level stack mold to opensequentially, first one side, then the other.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,548 to Bruder shows a two level stack mold whichuses pairs of cylinders hydraulically connected to each other such thatthe opening motion of a movable platen causes an upper rod of an uppercylinder to move inside the cylinder and displace oil that is conductedvia a pipe to a lower cylinder acting on its piston and causing a lowerrod to extend and push against a fixed platen, thereby causing thecenter section of the stack mold to separate from the fixed platen. Inthis way, both mold stations are opened simultaneously by equal amountsat equal speeds.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,341 to Sorensen shows a two level stack mold inwhich a center section is opened independently of the moving platen bymeans of a cylinder. Each mold station is opened sequentially accordingto the stroke of the cylinder. One mold is opened while the othersremains closed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,051 to Wright shows a two level stack mold in whichpairs of racks acting with a central pinion cause the mold stations toopen simultaneously and equally in both stroke and speed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,166 to DiSimone shows a two level stack mold carrierin which machine mounted castings for holding the center section of astack mold are moved by means of pairs of racks and pinions havingdifferent diameters, and both mounted on the moving platen, such thatthe center section of the mold remains equally spaced between the fixedand moving platens of the machine.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,843 to Brown shows a four level stack mold linkagesystem in which all mold stations are opened equally in both stroke andspeed via the opening motion of the moving platen.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,578,333 and 5,707,666, both to Schad, show multilevelstack mold carriers for four level stack molds in which nested castingsmounted in the machine, support various sections of the stack mold andare moved by nested drive means such that the centermost section isdriven first by the moving platen motion. Mounted to the center carrierare secondary drive means to cause the motions of the remaining moldsections such that all mold stations are open/closed equally both inspeed and distance.

None of the above mentioned patents describe a linkage mechanism foropening and closing the various sections of a stack mold by unequaldistances between the various mold sections. Nor are there anydescriptions of linkage mechanisms for facilitating such unequal motionsin an adjustable manner such that a stack mold carrier so equipped canbe used to accommodate installations of different stack moldconfigurations requiring different unequal strokes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stackmold having a linkage mechanism for opening and closing the varioussections of the mold by unequal strokes between the various moldsections.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stack moldas above having an adjustable linkage mechanism.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a methodfor fabricating molded parts of different sizes using a single moldingmachine.

The foregoing objects are attained by the machine and the method of thepresent invention.

In accordance with the present invention, an injection molding machinehas a stack mold including a stationary platen and at least two membersmovable relative to the stationary platen. At least two mold assembliesare formed by mold halves attached to the stationary platen and the atleast two movable members. The machine further has means for moving eachof the mold assemblies between a mold closed position and a mold openposition, which moving means includes means for separating the moldhalves forming the mold assemblies by unequal stroke distances. Theseparating means preferably comprises a first means for separating themold halves of a first one of the mold assemblies by a first strokedistance and second means for separating the mold halves of a second oneof the mold assemblies by a second stroke distance, which second meansmay be actuated when one of the movable members reaches a preselectedposition.

A method for fabricating molded articles of different sizes using asingle molding machine broadly comprises providing an injection moldingmachine having a mold stack including a stationary platen and at leasttwo movable members movable relative to the stationary platen andfurther having at least two mold assemblies formed by mold halvesattached to the stationary platen and the at least two movable members,injecting a molten material into said mold assemblies while said moldassemblies are in a mold closed position to form said molded articles,and moving each of the mold assemblies from the mold closed position toa mold open position where the molded articles are ejected from themachine, which moving step comprises separating the mold halves forminga first mold assembly by a first stroke distance and separating the moldhalves forming a second mold assembly by a second stroke distance largerthan the first stroke distance.

Other details of the machine, the linkage mechanisms used therein, andthe method of the present invention, as well as other advantages andobjects attendant thereto, are set forth in the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals depict like elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate a two level stack mold having a first linkagemechanism for opening the mold stations by different stroke lengths;

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate a two level stack mold having a second linkagemechanism for opening the mold stations by different stroke lengths;

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate a two level stack mold having a third linkagemechanism for opening the mold stations by different stroke lengths;

FIGS. 4A-4H illustrate a two level stack mold having a fourth linkagemechanism for opening the mold stations by different stroke lengths;

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate a two level stack mold having a fifth linkagemechanism for opening the mold stations by different stroke lengths;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a linkage mechanism for opening the moldstations of a four level stack mold by unequal stroke lengths;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an alternative linkage mechanism for openingthe mold stations of a four level stack mold by different strokelengths;

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate another embodiment of an adjustable linkagemechanism in accordance with the present invention for opening a moldingstation of a stack mold; and

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate still another embodiment of an adjustablelinkage mechanism in accordance with the present invention for opening amolding station of a stack mold.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate a portion of aninjection molding machine having a two level stack mold arrangement 10for molding different sized parts having a linkage mechanism 12 forallowing the mold stations A and B to be opened by unequal distances orstrokes. The two level stack mold 10 is shown mounted in a clamp andcomprises a stationary or fixed platen 14, a moving platen 16, fourtiebars 18, and a movable center section carrier 20. The tiebars 18extend between the stationary platen 14 and a clamp block (not shown).The moving platen 16 and the movable center section carrier 20 areslidable along the tiebars 18. Alternatively, the moving platen 16 andthe movable center section carrier 20 could be slidable on a clamp base(not shown) with the tiebars 18 passing through or around them.

The stack mold has two mold sections A and B. Mold section A is formedby a mold core plate or mold half 22 and a mold cavity plate or moldhalf 24. The mold core plate 22 is mounted to the stationary platen 14,while the mold cavity plate 24 is mounted to one side of the centersection carrier 20. Plate 22 and plate 24 may be mounted to the platen14 and the carrier 20 using any suitable means known in the art. Whenclosed together (a mold closed position), the two plates 22 and 24define a first mold cavity space into which a material to be molded isinjected. Similarly, stack mold section B is formed by a mold core plateor mold half 26 and a mold cavity plate or mold half 28. The mold coreplate 26 is mounted to one side of the moving platen 16, while the moldcavity plate 28 is mounted to one side of the center section carrier 20.As before, plate 26 and plate 28 may be mounted to the platen 16 and thecarrier 20 using any suitable means known in the art. When closedtogether (the mold closed position), the plates 26 and 28 define asecond mold cavity space into which a material to be molded is injected.The mechanism for injecting the material to be molded into the first andsecond mold cavity spaces does not form part of the present inventionand therefore has not been shown. Any suitable molten material injectionsystem known in the art may be used to inject molten material, such asmolten plastic material, into the cavity spaces.

The mold sections A and B move between the mold closed positions shownin FIG. 1A and the mold open positions shown in FIG. 1C as a result ofthe movable platen 16 being moved away from the stationary platen 14.This may be accomplished by applying an opening force to the platen 16via a column 30. Any suitable actuation means known in the art, such asa piston-cylinder arrangement (not shown), may be used to move theplaten 16 relative to the platen 14. The actuation means (not shown) isalso used to move the mold sections A and B from the open position tothe closed position.

In the machine shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, the mold station A is forming a lidand the mold station B is forming a bucket. The opening stroke L_(A) ofmold station A required to eject or release the lid can be much lessthan the opening stroke L_(B) of mold station L_(B) required to releaseor eject the bucket. As used herein, the term "opening stroke" refers tothe distance between the mold plates when a particular mold section isin an open position.

In this embodiment, the stack mold 10 is provided with a linkagemechanism 12 to cause the mold stations A and B to have different orunequal opening strokes L_(A) and L_(B) respectively. The linkagemechanism 12 includes a central link member 32 pivotably connected tothe center section carrier 20 and a link arm 34 which is connected atone end to the central link member 32 and at the second end to thestationary platen 14. The link arm 34 is preferably connected to thecentral link member 32 by a pin so that the angular relationship betweenthese two structures can be changed.

The linkage mechanism 12 further includes a second link arm 36 and athird link 38, which pivots about a boss 40 fastened to the movingplaten 16 by a member 41. The link arm 36 is mounted to pivot point 42on the link 38 which can be moved to one of several available positions44, 46, and 48, each offering a different radius of motion, and therebya different distance for the motion of the end of the link arm 36. Acylinder 50 is mounted to the moving platen 16, which cylinder moves oractuates the link arm 36.

In operation, as the moving platen 16 opens the mold (see FIG. 1B), thelinkage mechanism 12 causes both molds to begin opening. When the movingplaten 16 reaches a preselected position, the cylinder 50 is actuated bya programmed controller (not shown) to cause the link arm 38 to rotatethrough a preselected arc, thereby altering the end position of the linkarm 36. This, in turn, causes mold section B attached to the movingplaten 16 to continue opening further than mold section A attached tothe stationary platen 14. Mold section B opens at a different speed thanmold section A because of the additional motion of the link 38. Theprocedure is reversed to cause the molds to close.

The structure of the programmed controller does not form part of thepresent invention and therefore has not been described in detail. Infact, any conventional programmable controller known in the art may beused to actuate cylinder 50. Both the timing of the actuation and thespeed of motion of cylinder 50 can be programmed to occur at any timeduring the open stroke of the moving platen 16, thereby causing the twomold sections A and B to open differing or unequal distances atdiffering speeds as required.

Any suitable ejection means (not shown) known in the art may be providedto eject or remove the molded articles from the mold stations A and Bwhen the mold stations reach the position shown in FIG. 1C.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate another embodiment of a linkage mechanism 112 forcausing the mold stations A and B of a two level stack mold 110 to openwith different or unequal stroke lengths. The basic components of thestack mold 110 are the same as in FIGS. 1A-1C. For example, a column 30is provided to move the moving platen 16 relative to the stationaryplaten 14 and thereby open and close the mold stations A and B. Further,the linkage mechanism 112 includes a central link member pivotablyconnected to the central section carrier 20 and a link arm 34 which isconnected to the stationary platen 14 at one end and to the central linkmember 32 at its opposite end. As shown in FIG. 2A, shoes 35 are mountedto both sides of the carrier 20 by brackets 37. The shoes 35 facilitatesliding along the lower tiebars and prevent tipping and rocking. Thebrackets 37 may be attached to the carrier 16 by any suitable meansknown in the art such as bolts or screws. A similar shoe arrangement maybe provided on platen 16 if desired. In this alternative embodimenthowever, a frame 114 is supported by, and slides on, the tiebars 18. Theframe 114 carries the end of the link arm 36 in a bracket 116. Thebracket 116 is selectively gripped or released by a clamp 118 mounted onthe moving platen 16.

In operation, the mold is operated so that movement of the platen 16 ina direction away from the platen 14 causes the mold stations A and B toopen, initially by an identical stroke (See FIG. 2B). The controller(not shown) is programmed however so that when the moving platen 16reaches a preselected position as it moves from the mold closed to themold open position, the bracket 116 is released from the clamp 118, thusfreeing the link arm 36 and allowing the mold section B to continueopening further while mold section A stops opening. When the movingplaten 16 reaches a preselected position as it moves from the mold openposition to the mold closed position, the bracket 116 is automaticallyreengaged by the clamp 118 so that the link arm 36 operates normallyduring the closing stroke.

The clamp 118 may comprise any suitable clamping means known in the art.For example, the clamp 118 may have fluid actuated surfaces which gripthe bracket 116.

A third embodiment of a linkage mechanism 212 for allowing the moldstations A and B of a two level stack mold 210 to be opened with unequalstroke lengths is shown in FIGS. 3A-3D. The basic components of thestack mold 210 are identical to those shown in FIGS. 1A-1C. For example,a column 30 is provided to move the platen 16 relative to the stationaryplaten 14 from the mold closed position shown in FIG. 3A, through themold open position in FIG. 3B, to the final mold open position in FIG.3C where the mold stations A and B have been opened by unequal strokelengths.

The linkage mechanism 212 includes a central link member 32 pivotablyconnected to the central section carrier 20 by a central pinion 33 and alink arm 34 connected at one end to the stationary platen 14 and at theother end to an end of the central link member 32 by a conventionalpivot bearing.

In this embodiment however, the linkage mechanism 212 is different inthat it includes a slide bar 214 slidably mounted to the moving platen16 and pivotally attached to the link arm 36 by a conventional pivotbearing. The slide bar 214 may be slidably mounted to the moving platenusing any suitable means known in the art and is preferably restrainedto slide only in a horizontal motion.

As shown in FIG. 3D, a block 702 is bolted to either the mold platen 26or the machine platen 16. The block contains a plurality of bearing pads704 which allow the slide bar 214 to move freely horizontally throughthe block 702. The bearing pads 704 may comprise bronze wear plates.

A cover 706 is provided to protect the slide bar 214 and the bearingpads 704.

A cylinder 50, controlled by a programmable controller (not shown), isconnected to the slide bar 214 by two links 216 and 218. Actuation ofthe cylinder 50 extends and retracts the slide bar relative to themoving platen 16. In operation, the cylinder 50 is actuated during theopening stroke when the moving platen 16 reaches a preselected positionsuch as that shown in FIG. 3B. The cylinder 50 then retracts the arm 220causing the slide bar 214 to extend and thereby increase the openingstroke of mold station B without increasing the opening stroke of themold station A. When the moving platen 16 is moved by the column 30 tothe mold closed position, the cylinder 50 is again actuated when theplaten 16 reaches a preselected position.

The actuated cylinder 50 extends the arm 220 causing the links 216 and218 to retract the slide bar 214.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4F, a fourth embodiment of a linkage mechanism312 for permitting the mold stations of a two level stack mold 310 toopen with different stroke lengths is illustrated. Here again, the basiccomponents of the two stack mold 310 are identical to those shown inFIGS. 1A-1C. The mold 310 includes a stationary platen 14, a centralsection carrier 20 and a moving platen 16 which is caused to be moved bycolumn 30 from a mold closed position (See FIG. 4A) to a position wherethe mold stations A and B are opened by the same distance (FIG. 4B) to afinal mold open position (FIG. 4C) where the mold stations A and B havebeen opened by different or unequal stroke lengths. The linkagemechanism 312 includes a central link member 32 pivotably connected tothe central section carrier 20, a link arm 34 connected at one end tothe stationary platen 14 and at the other end to the central link member32, and a link arm 36 connected to the opposite end of central linkmember 32. In this embodiment, the link arm 36 is connected to one endof a bar 314. The bar 314 slides through a bracket 316 mounted to themoving platen 16. The bar 314 has a recess 318 which is engaged by alocking unit 320. The locking unit 320 includes a block 322 whichengages the recess 318 and an actuator 324 to move the block 322 betweenan engaged position (See FIG. 4A) and a disengaged position (See FIG.4C).

As shown in FIGS. 4D-4H, a cylinder 50 is mounted to the moving platen16. As before, the cylinder is actuated by a programmable controller(not shown). The cylinder 50 may be connected to the bar 314 by any oneof the linkages 326, 326' or 326". As shown in FIGS. 4D and 4G, thelinkage 326 comprises two pivotally connected link arms 328 and 330mounted within an end portion of the bar 314. The link arms 328 and 330are connected to the cylinder 50 via the arm 332. As shown in FIGS. 4Eand 4H, the linkage 326' includes two pairs of links 334 and 336attached to opposite sides of the bar 314. Each pair of links 334 and336 is connected by a bracket 338 and an arm 340 to the cylinder 50. Asshown in FIG. 4F, the linkage 326" comprises two links 342 and 344mounted to an upper surface of the bar 314. The links 342 and 344 areconnected to the cylinder 50 by a bracket 346 and the arm 348.

The machine may be programmed so that during the opening stroke, whenthe moving platen 16 reaches a preselected position, the actuator 324 isactuated to move the block 322 from a recess engaging position to arecess disengaged position. Further, the cylinder 50 is actuated to movethe bar 314 via linkage 326, 326' or 326" so as to extend the openingstroke of the mold station B. During the closing stroke, when the movingplaten 16 reaches a preselected position, the cylinder 50 is actuated toretract the bar 314 and the actuator 324 is actuated to cause the block322 to engage the recess 318.

FIGS. 5A-5D shows a fifth embodiment of a linkage mechanism 412 forcausing the mold stations A and B of a two level stack mold 410 to openwith different or unequal stroke lengths. As in the other embodiments,the basic components of the two level stack mold 410 are identical tothose shown in FIGS. 1A-1C. Further, the moving platen 16 is movedbetween a mold closed position and a mold open position and vice versaas previously discussed. The linkage mechanism 412 is different from thelinkage mechanisms shown in the previous embodiments. The linkagemechanism 412 is formed by channel 414 mounted on a center pivot 416attached to the central mold section or carrier 20. As can be seen inFIG. 5D, the channel 414 has a central passageway 415.

The linkage mechanism 412 further includes a center arm 418 mountedinside the channel 414. The center arm 418 is connected to link arms 422and 424 which are in turn respectively connected to the stationaryplaten 14 and the moving platen 16. The center arm 418 has a pluralityof through slots 417 and can be adjustably slid through the passageway415 such that the distance between its ends and the center, L₁ and L₂,can be altered such that they are unequal. Once adjusted, the center arm418 can be locked in position with respect to the channel 414 by usingsuitable through bolts 420 which pass through two slots 417 in arm 418.

This configuration of a linkage mechanism provides the means to causethe mold sections A and B to travel different opening strokes S₁ and S₂such that the mold station A has a different opening stroke from moldstation B.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show a four level stack mold 510 using the linkagemechanism 12 shown in FIGS. 1A-1C. The mold 510 includes a stationaryplaten 14, two central section carriers 20 and two moving platens 16.The mold 510 also includes columns 30 attached to the moving platens 16for moving the mold stations A, B, C, and D between mold closed (FIG.6A) and mold open (FIG. 6B) positions. Any suitable mechanism known inthe art for moving the platens 16 can be connected to the columns 30.

Four mold stations A, B, C, and D are formed by mold core plates andmold cavity plates mounted to the platens 14 and 16 and the centralsection carriers 20. The four mold stations can be opened simultaneouslyusing the linkage mechanism 12 with stations A and D being openeddiffering amounts from mold stations B and C and from each other sincecylinders 50 and 50' can be programmed to operate with differentstrokes.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate yet another linkage mechanism 612 for openingthe mold stations of a four level stack mold 610 by different or unequalstroke lengths. The basic components of the four level stack mold 610are identical to the components described in connection with theembodiment of FIGS. 6A and 6B. Similarly, the method for causing themoving platens 16 to move from a mold closed position (FIG. 7A) to amold open position (FIG. 7B) and vice versa is the same as thatpreviously discussed.

The linkage mechanism 612 includes racks 614, 616, 618 and 619 mountedto the platens 16, 14 and 16' respectively.

The linkage mechanism 612 also includes gears 620 and 622 mounted tocentral section carriers 20 and 20' respectively, a central link member32 pivotally mounted to the stationary platen 14, and link arms 34 and34'. The link arms 34 and 34' are each connected at one end to thecentral link member 32 and at a second end to one of the gears 620 and622. The link arm 34 preferably has a longer length than the link arm34'. The gears 620 and 622 preferably have different diameters such thatwhen they engage their respective racks, they cause the mold sections onwhich the racks are mounted to move different distances D₁ and D₂ asshown in FIG. 7B.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate yet another linkage assembly 712 for openingthe mold stations of a stack mold such as that shown in FIGS. 1A and 1Bby different or unequal stroke lengths. The linkage assembly 712 couldbe used in lieu of link 34 and/or the combination of link 36, rotatablelink element 38, member 41 and cylinder 50. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B,the linkage assembly 712 includes a first link 736 formed by spacedapart arms 738 and 740. The link 736 is connected to the central linkmember 32 by pin connection 742. Pin connection 742 may comprise anysuitable connection known in the art which allows relative rotationalmovement between central link member 32 and linkage assembly 712. Asbefore, central link member 32 may be pivotally connected to a centralsection carrier such as carrier 20. Each of the arms 738 and 740 isprovided with two rows of offset bores 744.

The linkage assembly 712 further includes an adjustable link arm 746which is joined to at least one of the platens such as moving platen 16.The arm 746 may be joined to the platen by any suitable means known inthe art which allows rotational movement between the arm 746 and theplaten. In a preferred embodiment, the arm 746 has an aperture 748 intowhich a bushing 750 and a surrounding self lubricating bearing 752 areinserted. Thrust washers 754 are then placed adjacent the sides of thearm 746. The arm 746 may be pivotably joined to the platen by pressfitting the bushing 750 into the platen and securing the arm 746 to thebushing by pin member 756. The end 758 of the arm 746 opposed to the endcontaining aperture 748 is positioned between arms 738 and 740. Aplurality of pins or bolts 760 are placed into the bores 744 andtightened so as to cause a frictional engagement between the arm 746 andthe arms 738 and 740. By providing this type of frictional engagement,there are an infinite number of positions of the arm 746 relative to thearms 738 and 740. Further, the adjustments can be easily made byloosening the pins or bolts 760 and retightening them. The connectionbetween the pins or bolts 760 and the bores 744 may be a threadedconnection or any other suitable connection known in the art.

The principal advantage of this linkage assembly is that the strokelength may be easily adjusted manually as required to mold a certainpart. By positioning arm 746 in a desired location relative to the arms738 and 740, the length L between the center of pin connection 742 andthe center of bushing 750 can be increased or decreased as needed.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an alternative embodiment of the linkageassembly 712. In this embodiment, the arms 738 and 740 are each providedwith only one row of bores 744. The type of linkage assembly may be usedwith small, lightweight molds, while the linkage assembly of FIGS. 8Aand 8B may be used on heavier molds or where a higher degree offrictional engagement is required.

Besides ease of assembly and adjustment, the linkage assembly 712 hasthe virtue of being easy to manufacture. Further, existing stack moldmachines can be retrofitted with it.

While the present invention has been described with reference to anumber of linkage mechanism examples mounted directly to the moldsections, it should be apparent that the linkage mechanisms can equallybe mounted on carriers that remain part of the molding machine after themold sections have been removed or changed.

Further, it should be recognized that the linkage mechanisms disclosedherein are designed to be adjustable in that the various differentstrokes they cause can be altered for different mold sectioninstallations by either simple control changes or by changing out a fewcomponents in the mechanism, such as the different gear diameters of theembodiment of FIGS. 7A and 7B. Thus, the linkage mechanisms taughtherein are universal in their application to stack molds having two ormold sections.

While the invention has been described in the context of a singlearticle being molded at each mold station, it should be apparent thatmultiple articles could be molded at each station.

It is apparent that there has been provided in accordance with thepresent invention stack mold linkages with unequal strokes which fullysatisfy the means, objects and advantages set forth hereinbefore. Whilethe invention has been described in combination with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in theart in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intendedto embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fallwithin the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An injection molding machine comprising:astationary platen and at least two members movable relative to saidstationary platen; at least two mold assemblies formed by mold halvesattached to said stationary platen and said two movable members; meansfor moving each of said at least two mold assemblies between a moldclosed position and a mold open position; said moving means includingmeans for separating the mold halves forming said mold assemblies byunequal stroke distances; said separating means comprising first meansfor separating the mold halves of a first one of said mold assemblies bya first stroke distance and second means for separating the mold halvesof a second one of said mold assemblies by a second stroke distance,which second stroke distance is greater than said first stroke distance;and at least one of said first and second means being formed by amanually adjustable linkage assembly.
 2. Machine according to claim 1,wherein said manually adjustable linkage assembly comprises two spacedapart arms each connected to an actuator connected to a first one ofsaid movable members and a third arm connected to at least one of saidstationary platen and a second one of said movable members.
 3. Machineaccording to claim 2, wherein each of said two spaced apart arms has aplurality of bores and said third arm is positioned between said twospaced apart arms and said linkage assembly further comprises at leastone pin for creating frictional engagement between said third arm andsaid two spaced apart arms.
 4. Machine according to claim 3, whereineach of said two spaced apart arms has two offset rows of bores. 5.Machine according to claim 2, wherein said spaced apart arms and saidthird arm define a stroke length which may be changed by positioningsaid third arm in a number of different positions relative to said twospaced apart arms.
 6. A method for fabricating molded articles using asingle molding machine comprising the steps of:providing an injectionmolding machine having a stationary platen and at least two membersmovable relative to said stationary platen and further having at leasttwo mold assemblies formed by mold halves attached to said stationaryplaten and said at least two movable members; injecting a material intoeach of said mold assemblies while said assemblies are each in a moldclosed position to form said articles; moving each of said moldassemblies between said mold closed position and a mold open positionwhere said molded articles are ejected from the machine; said movingstep comprising separating the mold halves forming a first mold assemblyby a first stroke distance and separating said mold halves forming asecond mold assembly by a second stroke distance larger than said firststroke distance; providing a manually adjustable linkage assemblybetween a first one of said movable members and at least one of saidstationary platen and a second one of said movable members; andadjusting said manually adjustable linkage assembly prior to saidinjecting step to permit separation of the mold halves forming saidsecond mold assembly by said second stroke distance.